Building an Information System for Collaborative Researchers: A Case Study from the Brain-tumor Research Domain

A Neuro-Oncology Information System (NOIS) has been designed and implemented to support collaborative brain-tumor research, and is being used currently by researchers around the nation. The NOIS serves two groups of brain-tumor researchers, each with complex organizational structures. The complexity of these structures adds greatly to the task of designing an information system to support brain-tumor research. In particular, a lack of a central source of authority among collaborating group members, and the constantly shifting understanding of research objectives and the means to achieve them, have significant impact on the NOIS design and implementation. In this paper, we suggest guidelines for designing, implementing and maintaining an information system in the face of continually shifting goals and priorities in the user community. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.